The Clinton administration delivered the nation into the 21st century with a record budget surplus. In eight years, President Bush and Republican Congresses squandered the budget opportunities they inherited and turned them into the worst deficits in American history.

Today, in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and as Congress considers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is telling to look back and examine the pattern of Republican failures on economic policy.

This is the contradiction of American healthcare: That we have the best hospitals, the most highly-trained doctors, the latest technology—and a system in which millions find it impossible to go in for a regular checkup.

As you know, we are dealing with one of the worst economic climates in memory: 2.6 million jobs lost last year; the worst housing market since the Great Depression; financial turmoil that has threatened the savings and retirements of millions.